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Boston Public Library Director Not Renewed

The Board of Trustees of the Boston Public Library voted today not to renew the contract of director Bernie Margolis, who has been there for 10 years, according to The Boston Globe. The Globe earlier reported that Mayor Tom Menino and the Trustees wanted more emphasis on branches and less on the historic central library.

I am unclear about the status of the BPL. It is supposed to be both the municipal library for the City of Boston, and the main public library for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

It seems that the mayor has ultimate control over the BPL, and now wants it to serve primarily the city's residents through the branch libraries, although it's easily accessible using Boston's fairly good public transportation.

Does the state provide most of its funding? I live in a working class suburb of Boston. Do our taxes pay for the BPL? What percentage of its income is from the state?

Maybe we should spin off the branches for the City of Boston, and have the state control the main branch through a totally separate agency.